Free Republic

Inside the test flight of Facebook’s first internet drone.

<p>NASA’s next cargo delivery vehicle—a spunky little space plane that looks like it could be an offspring of the space shuttle—is getting ready to fly.</p> <p>The svelte and snub nosed Dream Chaser will soon be shipped to the Mojave desert in California where it would begin a series of ground tests that would eventually culminate with a flight from an altitude of 2.5 miles high.</p>

The F-35A has already fired its internal GAU-22 25mm cannon both on the ground and in the air, and now the gun pod intended for the B and C models, which lack an internal cannon, is being test-fired on the aircraft for the very first time. The gun pod is housed in a semi-low observable (stealthy) enclosure attached to the F-35B and C’s centerlines, between the weapons bays. The gun’s “common” enclosure design can also be used to house other bolt-on systems in the future. LOCKHEED MARTIN A F-35B loaded with GBU-12 laser guided bombs, AIM-9X Sidewinders, and a gun...

In 2007, India began an official tender process for 126 multi-role, medium-range combat aircraft (MMRCA) with Paris-based Dassault at a cost of about $11 billion. It was the world’s largest fighter jet deal at the time. Since then the deal has unraveled. Negotiations stalled over price and quality and, ultimately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opted to purchase only 36 “ready to fly” aircraft from Dassault. Even this more modest version of deal has yet to fully fructify. Since the original bid, the Modi government has added a “made in India” component as part of all future acquisitions. Amidst the French...

A United States 'spy plane' has made an emergency landing in eastern Russia, it has emerged today. The surveillance Boeing OC-135B aircraft was flying a mission over Siberia as allowed under the Treaty on Open Skies when it reported a problem with its landing gear. The unarmed plane made an emergency landing at Khabarovsk airport, but a military source in Russia has questioned whether the technical glitch was genuine.

They were certain they knew the identity of the long-missing hijacker known as D.B. Cooper, and now the self-appointed investigators wanted their man to turn himself in to the FBI and sign over his life rights for a book and movie project... Rackstraw watched the documentary, he said in an interview. He watched himself being ambushed. He watched the man whose son found the ransom money along the Columbia River deny that it had been planted there. He watched a Northwest Orient flight attendant examine an old photo of him and his decades-old NBC interview and repeatedly say she didn’t...

Inside the ultimate test drive: How British test pilots put the Eurofighter Typhoon through its paces British test pilots from BAE Systems have lifted the lid on how they push the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet to the edge of its limits as part of an ‘ultimate test drive’ before delivering the aircraft to customers including the Royal Air Force. The jet’s power, speed and agility are all brought to the fore as test pilots, based at Warton, Lancashire, take the controls of each Typhoon for the first time – as soon as they roll out from the factory floor to...

The Israeli public has become acutely aware of the cost of living and other socioeconomic issues in recent years. But in some areas, the government and economic interests still dictate the agenda and discourse. The best example is the hoopla around Israel’s purchase of F-35 Stealth fighter jets. The first eight of the 33 fighter jets Israel ordered are expected to enter service with the Israel Air Force in the fall of 2017. The Joint Strike Fighter F-35 is not only the most expensive plane in history. It’s also one of the weirdest and least successful projects ever by the...

I present to you the new #TrumpPence campaign plane. #TeamTrump.

Governor Mike Pence gets his campaign airplane delivered today. Top shelf. It was almost complete in the following picture: Pence plane

Governor Mike Pence gets his campaign airplane delivered today. Top shelf. It was almost complete in the following picture:

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is getting ready for a voyage to the Syrian coast in the Mediterranean. The goal of the deployment is to check the combat capabilities of the ship and its strike group, including Russia's state-of-the-art KA-52K Katran helicopters. The cruiser's deck-based aircraft will join the Syrian campaign from October 2016 to January 2017. The air group's tasks The deployment of the Admiral Kuznetsov amounts to a planned inspection of Russian arms, Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) magazine, told RBTH. "Sending the Admiral to Syria is a test of the...

Top searchers at the Dutch company leading the underwater hunt for Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 say they believe the plane may have glided down rather than dived in the final moments, meaning they have been scouring the wrong patch of ocean for two years. Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew onboard en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Searchers led by engineering group Fugro (FUGRc.AS) have been combing an area roughly the size of Greece for two years. That search, over 120,000 square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean off Western Australia, is expected to...

MOSCOW --- The prototype of the newest Mi-28NM (M stands for upgraded, Modernizirovanny) combat helicopter has been delivered to the Lyubertsy-based flight-test center of the Moscow Helicopter Plant named after M. Mil (a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters holding), according to open sources. Hence, the flight trials of the rotor-wing aircraft will likely take place in the Moscow Region. The Rostov Helicopter Plant (Rostvertol, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters holding) produced the demonstrator in 2015. Mi-28NM is known to be equipped with new above rotor-based N025 radar and advanced rotor blades to increase the helicopter’s maximum flight speed. The chin-mounted weapon...

If you fly, you will have heard by now that The Pilots' Bill of Rights 2 has been signed into law. This is the result of the DOT refusing to rule on the proposal for close to five years. In short, it will allow anyone who has held a third class medical since 2007 be able to fly any airplane up to 6,000 pounds, single or twin, VFR or IFR, under 10,000 feet without another current medical certificate. The law becomes effective July 17, 2017. My prediction is that the FAA will never allow it to take effect, esp. with...

The Cessna 208B, operated by Joy Air General Air, was carrying two crew members and eight invited guests, mostly government workers and local journalists, according to local media. ... The seaplane took off from Jinshan in suburban Shanghai and was bound for the Zhoushan islands, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the south. The route is designed for tourists and sightseers who want to escape to the islands from sprawling Shanghai. Local journalists were invited to tour the seaplane before its takeoff, and some of them boarded the aircraft for the subsequent flight along with local officials. Wednesday's flight appeared...

On the night of July 15, elements of the Turkish military rose up against Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and very nearly succeeded in killing or capturing their controversial leader. A few military units remained steadfastly loyal to the embattled president. Among them — the 1st Main Jet Base in Eskisehir in northwestern Turkey. The base’s F-4E Terminator 2020 fighters flew to Erdogan’s aid during the direst hours of the daylong attempted coup. But the aged fighters were no match for the much newer F-16s that the rebels had commandeered. Turkish air force squadrons led the ultimately failed coup. Apparently following many months of...

U.S. airline regulators are banning all flights between the U.S. and airports in Turkey as the country fought to overcome a military coup attempt that left at least 161 people dead and scores more wounded Saturday. The Federal Aviation Administration ban includes commercial and private planes operating into or out of Turkey, as well as flights to the U.S. by non-U.S. carriers via third countries. (SNIP) Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Ankara issued a statement Saturday warning that U.S. government officials have been told not to use the airport in Istanbul and that U.S. citizens in the country should seek...

A terminally ill former World War Two Spitfire engineer's 'last wish' to be reunited with the iconic plane was granted after top brass saw him looking forlornly through a fence at one from his wheelchair. Ken Farlow, 95, was an electrical engineer during the war, carrying out vital work to keep Spitfires and Hurricanes in the air in Syria and Palestine. But after being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, the father-of-three asked daughter Helen if he 'could see a Spitfire - one last time'. Helen, 52, took him to Gloucestershire Airport where the vintage planes were being maintained by the...

Could we soon be saying goodbye to long-haul flights? One company has taken an important step in making this dream come true. Oxford's Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) announced it has received a €10,000 development contract with ESA, so it can work on its revolutionary Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE). This technology can work both in the Earth's atmosphere and in space - which is crucial to space planes. ( scroll down for video explanation of technology)